pittsburgh duck tours

Just Ducky Tours Inc.

‘Just Ducky’ river tours pulls plug in Pa. city: Here’s why

• Updated: Jun. 26, 2019, 2:13 p.m. |
• Published: Jun. 26, 2019, 7:22 a.m.

With duck boat safety an increasing concern after several deadly accidents, it mattered little that Pittsburgh's Just Ducky tour boats are inspected annually and certified by the U.S. Coast Guard for safety—and carry 30 life jackets for adults and 30 for children.

• John Luciew | [email protected]

‘Just Ducky’ duck boat tours may have quacked its last in this Pa. river city. And the culprit in sinking this season’s business has been revealed.

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports , Just Ducky Tours, based in Pittsburgh’s Station Square, is pulling the plug on the entire season, which would have run from April 1 to Nov. 30.

And the future of the business is far from certain.

This, after several high-profile and deadly duck boat accidents have pushed the company’s insurance rates out of sight, according to the report:

Specifically, owner Michael Cohen, who started the business in 1997 with a friend, Chris D’Addario, told the Post-Gazette last year’s duck boat sinking in a Missouri lake, killing 17 people, has left his amphibious boat business all but dead, as well.

“We were just a victim of the unscrupulous actions of the operator in Branson, Mo.,” Cohen told the newspaper. “If that accident had never happened, we would be operating today.”

Instead, Cohen said his insurance company initially cancelled his policy and then wanted a 120 percent increase, putting coverage out of reach and the business’s future in limbo.

Background from the Post-Gazette:

In the Table Rock Lake tragedy in Missouri, a duck boat was caught in a thunderstorm last summer that produced 60 mph hour winds and three-foot waves – despite having been warned about the oncoming weather.

The boat sank; and the 17 killed ranged in age from 1 to 70. None of the passengers wore life jackets.

Worse yet, the Table Rock Lake accident was the sixth involving a duck boat since 1999, including one in Philadelphia in 2010 in which two people died on the Delaware River.

As a result, Cohen said he learned in January that “our insurance company would not renew us. We had a very clean loss-run history. It didn’t matter. The insurance companies got spooked.”

It mattered little that Cohen said his Just Ducky tour boats are inspected annually and certified by the U.S. Coast Guard for safety—and carry 30 life jackets for adults and 30 for children.

“We are never more than 250 feet from shore,” Cohen told the newspaper. “We never put passengers in harm’s way.”

Now, those once-amphibious vehicles designed for fun on both land and water will remain in dry-dock for the foreseeable future.

• Iconic Pa. overlook closes due to crumbling conditions

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Just Ducky Tours resuming Pittsburgh operations in April

Quack, quack — duck boat tours are coming back.

Just Ducky Tours, which operates eight World War II-era amphibious craft out of Pittsburgh’s Station Square, announced on its website that it will be resuming its land and water tours in mid- to late April.

The company ended its 2018 season in September, canceling tours that had been scheduled through November.

That came after duck boat companies across the nation grappled with declining ticket sales following the July 19 sinking of a duck-style tour boat during a heavy storm on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo. Seventeen of the 31 people aboard the Ride the Ducks vessel died.

Just Ducky is not related to the Missouri company. Co-owner Christopher D’Addario said its vessels are safe .

Safety protocols are posted on its website.

Just Ducky is hiring for its upcoming season. Applications are available on its website .

Ticket costs for 2019 are $25 for adults, $15 for children ages 3 to 12, and $5 for infants ages 2 and younger.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at [email protected] .

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Pittsburgh ducky tours offer unique city views

By Madeline Bartos | Staff Writer

Are Just Ducky Tours really all that they’re quacked up to be? A Pittsburgh staple, Just Ducky Tours take tourists through Pittsburgh in amphibious World War II vehicles known as DUKWs. The duck boats take riders through the streets of Pittsburgh as well as down the rivers that shape the city. The entire time, tourists are encouraged to quack at people on the streets, quite often getting them to quack back.

While Pittsburgh’s duck tours are still waddling, Ride the Ducks in Philadelphia is closing due to a less than perfect record that involves a few fatal accidents in past years. According to Trib Live, in 2015 a Philadelphia duck boat hit a pedestrian in an intersection, killing her. In 2010 a duck boat was hit by a barge, killing two people. Insurance rates for the company have become too high, forcing it to close.

The end of Philadelphia’s Ride the Ducks tours doesn’t mean anything for the unrelated Pittsburgh Just Ducky Tours. As a matter of fact, even at 5:45 on a chilly Monday night, the boats are more than half full with people ready to see Pittsburgh from land and water. Whistles that imitated quacks were for sale inside, and nearly every kid had a whistle in their mouths before the tour even started.

The routes for the Ducky tour can change depending on events going on in Pittsburgh as well as traffic. However, the usual route takes the duck boat through Pittsburgh’s business and cultural districts before heading into one of the three rivers. I’ve seen a lot of Pittsburgh, but with Philadelphia’s Just Ducky tours closing it was time to get in one of the amphibious vehicles, learn some facts about Pittsburgh and quack the duck whistles.

The tour began in Station Square, home of Pittsburgh’s Just Ducky Tours. After a few tight turns, the duck boat started to cruise down Grant Street. The tour guide pointed out a few sculptures that even after several drives down Grant Street, I’ve never noticed myself. Despite being in the middle of rush hour, the traffic going into the city wasn’t bad and the driver seemed to be effortlessly maneuvering the vehicle. It didn’t seem like safety would be an issue like it was for the Philadelphia tours.

The vehicle zig zagged through the city, passing most of the major skyscrapers. The tour guide pointed out how a few buildings, including the Allegheny County Courthouse, have markers that show what used to be ground level of several buildings. Some architects planned for this and laid the basements out like lobbies. Other buildings didn’t plan for the hillside to be dug out, meaning the ground floor of some buildings is actually the basement.

When the boat entered the water, it felt like going down the infamous Kennywood Pittsburgh Plunge, just tinier and with a similar drop in your stomach. The driver offered anyone the chance to drive, but most were too nervous to take the wheel.

The views from the River were the best. I’ve seen Pittsburgh from the Point and several different look outs, but none of them compared to seeing it straight from the river. The vehicle drove to The Point before turning back around. If you’re someone who thinks you’ve seen Pittsburgh from every angle, the one from the river is much different and very eye opening.

The vehicle climbed back out of the water and I became aware of how low we were to the water and how high we were from the ground. The boat crawled back across the Smithfield Bridge, ending at the same place it started. When the tour guide asked the vehicle for one more quack, I couldn’t help but join in with my fellow passengers for a few final quacks and honks. Hopefully the amphibious vehicles don’t swim away from the ‘Burgh anytime soon.

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Watch CBS News

Mick Jagger plays tourist while in Philadelphia for Hackney Diamonds Tour

By Jessica MacAulay

June 18, 2024 / 3:25 PM EDT / CBS Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Did Philly just add another living legend to the city's fan club? Well, you tell us. 

While the Rolling Stones were in town last Tuesday for the band's highly anticipated Hackney Diamonds Tour stop at Lincoln Financial Field, Mick Jagger got to see some famous Philly places like Fairmount Park,  Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center and even got to see a hidden gem, the Lombardi Trophy that the Eagles took home in 2018 against the New England Patriots.

The Rolling Stones frontman posted a photo dump from his travels on tour in Philly and Cleveland, where the band performed on Saturday. The collage of photos was simply captioned "Highlights from Philly and Cleveland!"

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mick Jagger (@mickjagger)

Jagger posed in front of the St. George and the Dragon  statue located on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive at Black Road in West Fairmount Park. The photo is a little piece of home for the English rocker in Philadelphia since St. George is the patron saint of England. 

Next, he popped over to Shofuso, a Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park. Shofuso thanked Jagger for stopping by in an Instagram post captioned:

"Thank you  @mickjagger  for stopping by Shofuso last week! On behalf of the  @jasgphiladelphia  we hope you enjoyed our house and garden as much as we do. It's a beautiful and tranquil hidden treasure right in the heart of  #Philadelphia ."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center (@shofuso)

So case in point, Mick Jagger is living proof that rockstars can be tourists. And maybe, just maybe, this rockstar could be an Eagles fan.

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Jessica MacAulay is a digital producer for CBSPhiladelphia.com. Jessica started out her career in broadcast journalism originally as an intern for CBS Philadelphia. She covers breaking news, local community and crime stories.

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